Summary
From South Mauritania to Sudan between the 150 and 600 mm isohyets the sub-Saharan semi-arid lands are covered by a fixed sand sea. Two areas are discussed in this paper: in Niger west and east of the river Niger bend from N’Guigmi to Niamey and in Mali leeward of the Niger’s inland delta. The aim is 1) to describe the morphometric data of the sand accumulation, 2) to understand the actual aeolian removal of particles, 3) to analyse the effects of wind erosion in desertification.
The results obtained show that the deposits south of Sahara accumulated on a surface of 600 km are due to the same Wind Action System (WAS). The grain size is constantly and globally decreasing in the Harmattan wind direction. The wind abrasion on the sand particles is increasing in the same direction. The grain size 400 µm is a threshold: the upper limit of actual, average aeolian deflation.
This area, which previously had a positive sediment balance, during the last drought combined with agricultural overuse became an area of sand and dust removal with a negative sediment balance.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bertrand, J. J., Legrand, M.: Télédétection des brumes sèches. Colloque intern: la télédétection au service du développement (1987).
Cailleux, A.: L’indice d’émoussé: définition et premiére application. C. R. Soc. Géol.Fr. 13-14, 251–252 (1947).
Collective: Wind erosion conference. Lubbock, U.S.A. 1988.
Grove, A. T.: The ancient erg of Hausaland and similar formations in the south side of the Sahara. Geogr. J. CXXIV-4, 528–533 (1958).
Grove, A. T., Warren, A.: Quaternary landforms and climate on the south side of the Sahara. Geogr. J. 134, 194–208 (1968).
Haynes, C. V., Mead, A. R.: Radiocarbon dating and paleoclimatic significance of subfossil Limicolaria in northwestern Sudan. Quaternary Res. 28, 86–89 (1987).
Hurault, J.: Phases climatiques tropicales séches á Banyo (Cameroun, hauts plateaux de l’Adamawa). In: E. M. Van Zinderen Bakker (ed.): Palaeoecology of Africa, the surrounding islands and Antarctica, pp. 93–102. Cape Town: Balkema (1972).
Krumbein, W. C.: Size frequency distribution of sediments and the normal ø curve. J. Sediment. Petrol. 8-3, 84–90 (1938).
Lezine, A. M.: Late quaternary vegetation and climate of the Sahel. Quaternary Res. 32, 317 to 334 (1989).
Mainguet, M., Canon, L., Chemin, M. C.: Le Sahara: géomorphologie et paléogéomorphologie éoliennes. In: Williams, M. A. J., Faure, H., (eds): The Sahara and the Nile-quaternary environments and prehistoric occupation in northern Africa, pp. 17–35. Rotterdam: Balkema 1980.
Mainguet, M.: Les marques géographiques de l’aridité dans Ie Sahara et sur ses marges au PlioQuaternaire. A-t-on fait une juste place au Paléo-aride du Sahara. Bull. A. G. F. 483-484, 25–29 (1982).
Mainguet, M., Chemin, M. C.: Sand seas of the Sahara and Sahel: an explanation of their thickness and sand dune type by the sand budget principle. In: Brookfield, M. E., Ahlbrandt, T. S., (eds.): Eolian sediments and processes, pp. 353–363. Amsterdam: Elsevier 1983.
Maley, J.: Mécanismes des changements climatiques aux basses latitudes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 14, 193–227 (1973).
Maley, J.: Etudes palynologiques dans le bassin du Tchad et paléoclimatologie de l’Afrique nordtropicale de 30,000 ans àl’époque actuelle. Travaux et documents del’ORSTOM 129, p. 586 (1981).
McTainsh, G.: Dust processes in Australia and West Africa: a comparison. Search 16-3-4, 104–106 (1985).
Nicholson, S. E.: A climatic chronology for Africa: synthesis of geological, historical and meteorological information and data. Ph. D. Thesis, Wisconsin-Madison, unpublished 1976.
Nicholson, S. E.: Climatic variations in the Sahel and of Africa regions during the past five centuries. J. Arid Environ. 1, 3–24 (1978).
Nicholson, S. E., Flohn, H.: African environmental and climatic changes and the general atmospheric circulation in Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Climatic Change 2, 313–348 (1980).
Nicholson, S. E.: The historical climatology of Africa. In: Ingram, K. J., Farmer, G., (eds.): Climate and history, pp. 249–270. Cambridge: 1981.
Pachur, H. J., Kropelin, S.: Wadi Howar: paleoclimatic evidence from an extinct river system in the south eastern Sahara. Science 237, 298–300 (1987).
Peel, R.: Wind-stable stone-mantles in the southern Sahara. Geogr. J. 134, 463–465 (1968).
Petit-Maire, N.: Interglacial environments in presently hyperarid Sahara: palaeoclimatic implications. Palaeoclimatology and Palaeometeorology: modern and past patterns of global atmospheric transport, 637–661 (1989).
Prospero, J. M., Glaccum, R. A., Nees, R. T.: Atmospheric transport of soil dust from Africa to South America. Nature 289, 570–572 (1981).
Sarnthein, M., Tetzlaff, G., Koopman, B., Walter, K., Pflaumann, V.: Glacial and interglacial wind regimes over the eastern subtropical Atlantic and north west Africa. Nature 293, 193–196 (1981).
Schneider, J. L.: Evolution du dernier lacustre et peuplements préhistoriques aux pays bas du Tchad. Bull. Inst. Fr. Afr. Noire A31, 259–263 (1969).
Sombroek, W. G., Zonneveld, I. S.: Ancient dunefield and fluviatile deposits in the Rima-Sokoto river basin (NW Nigeria). Soil Survey Papers 5, 102 (1971).
Street-Perrott, F. A., Roberts, N.: Fluctuations in closed-basin lakes as an indicator of past atmospheric circulation patterns. In: Street-Perrott, Beran, Ratchliffe (eds.) Variations in the global budget, pp. 331–345. Dordrecht: Reidel (1983).
Wentworth, C. K.: A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments. J. Geol. 30, 377–392 (1922).
Zhu Zhenda, Liu Shu: Combating desertification in arid and semi-arid zones in China. Institute of desert research Academia Sinica, p. 69 (1983).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1991 Springer-Verlag Wien
About this paper
Cite this paper
Mainguet, M., Chemin, M.C. (1991). Wind degradation on the sandy soils of the Sahel of Mali and Niger and its part in desertification. In: Barndorff-Nielsen, O.E., Willetts, B.B. (eds) Aeolian Grain Transport. Acta Mechanica Supplementum, vol 2. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-6703-8_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-6703-8_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna
Print ISBN: 978-3-211-82274-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-7091-6703-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive